There’s an easy sense of hospitality at this 21-year-old seaside restaurant. Tables could equally be made up of multi-generational families lunching or truffle-snuffling couples. Giovanni Pilu’s Sardinian roots show in the hand-made culurgiones – small, pillowy dumplings oozing with potato in a roast chicken jus, flecked with crisp chicken skin.“The chef calls these little parcels of love,” says the waiter.

The refreshed menu jumps with good ideas, such as crudo of coral trout bright with mandarin, and a snow-white tranche of Aquna Murray cod with fennel and fruity black olives. Or stay Sardinian with the signature roast suckling pig, the milky, sweet meat teamed with sharp red cabbage and sheep’s yoghurt. Then dip a spoon into miraculously smooth goat’s-milk gelato, drizzled with espresso and Sardinia’s mirto liqueur, and suddenly, rather than Freshwater, it’s the Costa Smeralda out there.

Best for: Special-occasion weekend lunches.

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